BRGR Kitchen + Bar

If you like fermented food, I highly recommend having a meal here! Their Vegetarian sampler platter is huge and very filling with potato, lentil, and chickpea dishes, and you get to enjoy eating with your hands as you scoop up the various dishes with the injera (teff flatbread). It's a great day when you don't feel bloated or ill after eating out in this country! The injera flatbread is soft, chewy, has many small bubbles, and is quite tart from the fermentation of the teff flour. They did seemed to be more sour and saltier than when I came a year or two ago. They also have a brown teff injera option for those who want it gluten free. Gomen, their collard green dish, and fosolia, their green bean dish, had some hard fibers from not preparing them properly, but overall it was an enjoyable experience. My favorite vegetarian dishes were Atikeltt (cabbage and potato), Shimbera watt (chickpeas and green peas), and Inguday watt (mushrooms and onions). None of the dishes stood out to me as being particularly strong in spices, so the flavors tended to blend from one dish to the next, especially when eaten with the sour and salty injera. Since this meal uses your hands to scoop up the dishes with the injera, and no wet towels are given to wipe off your hands prior to eating, I recommend using the restrooms in the center of the building to wash hands, heading left from the east door of the restaurant, and using the handicap push button to open the restroom door when coming out to avoid touching it directly. The last time I came here, their Ethiopian coffee tasted like it was made from a strong dose of instant coffee crystals, so I wouldn't recommend getting it unless they show that they brew actual coffee beans. I had their homemade mead at that time which was lightly fermented and still quite sweet, but I don't remember seeing it on the menu this time. I saw instead they now serve chai. If you want to take advantage of their lower price options, I recommend coming between 11-3pm during their lunch buffet and lunch pricing. I thought their lunch pricing continued in until 4pm, so I was surprised to see that the bill came out to be $5 more than expected. Will now know for next time!

We have ordered takeout from Blue Nile several times but this was our first time dining in. All the better an experience! We got the combo platter and that appears to be the most commonly ordered item, with good reason. It says it serves two and that's true if both diners are very hungry. It would easily feed three. The variety of items is very welcome and all of it was expertly prepared and flavored.

It was very good. You eat with your hands. The sour bread is so good. The platter is the way to go. You get all the veggie dishes and 2-3 of the meat dishes. It can feed 3-4 easily. The flavors were poppin! I’m definitely going back soon.